


No Grave Can Hold My Body Down

by CosmicallyLyss



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fallen Angel!Seonghwa, Fluff, Grim Reapers, M/M, Nobody - Freeform, Nobody is Dead, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other NSFW Tags To Be Added, Reaper!Wooyoung, Reaper!Yunho, Skater!Hongjoong, Skater!Jongho, Skater!Mingi, Skater!San, Skater!Yeosang, in a literal sense, okay??, skaters, themes of death, yeosang & friends are sorta stoners, yeosang flirts with death, yunho is a panicked gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 04:02:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18748627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicallyLyss/pseuds/CosmicallyLyss
Summary: "Yeosang just wanted to let himself know that he could conquer Rose Hill. He’d be the first. He knew it was possible. He wouldn’t be like everyone else that had tried to skate or bike down the massive, steep hill. He’d survive it. Because Yeosang knew himself, knew he could do it, knew he wasn’t the kind of person to let himself die. The nose of his skateboard teetered perilously over the precipice of the hill, and he knew if the board moved just a centimeter forwards, it would fall. His head was foggy, from both intoxication and exhaustion, but he pushed all that away, foot coming down to rest on his board. He almost lurched forwards, almost lost balance, but was quick to regain his weary footing from digging his heel into the ground. After one last shuddering breath - and a prayer to a god he wasn’t sure if he believed in - he pushed off, foot leaving the ground and taking its rightful place on his skateboard behind his other foot. And he was flying."________________________aka, the one where grim reaper yunho & skater boi yeosang 'meet' by chance, and try to navigate what a relationship could mean between someone unafraid of death, and someone who's never been alive





	1. Rose Hill

**Author's Note:**

  * For [0323pup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/0323pup/gifts).



> "wait lyss but you already have like 676832456879 aus-"  
> that doesn't matter !! take this one !! please !! i've honestly separated my chaptered fics into different 'generations' so that like,, once one ends another will take its place. and my oneshots will be randomly dispersed throughout this whole cycle.
> 
> a n y w a y , , , this au is a thing now ! and the chapters will probably kinda short and quick at first, but,,,, y'all get like 9K words in The Vanished per chapter so please don't be mad :(((( There aren't warnings for this chapter except some descriptions of injury, although it's nothing gory and graphic. I hope you'll all enjoy!!

Dirt roads, patches of dead grass, wilted flowers here and there. The scenery below him was abysmal at best. And with the rising sun coating the horizon and turning the brown soil golden and red, it looked like Yeosang was about to ride down the steep hill to hell. His friends weren’t waiting for him like they normally would have been - mostly because they all had a class at eight in the morning, and decided being well rested for hours of lecturing about biology was better than having to listen to their professor drawl on and on with no sleep. But in Yeosang’s defense, he couldn’t bring himself to care about biology. He was young, just nineteen, and consciously oblivious to the trivial hindrances that real-world responsibilities brought him. Up here, on top of Rose Hill, with just the morning sun in his eyes and board in his hand, he felt peaceful. Which may have been ironic, seeing as his peace was found on the precipice of what could very well be a fatal injury - if he were to slip and fall, that is. But that possibility of death, that thrill, that danger… It was the reason Yeosang loved what he did. Yes, the skate park was undeniably awesome. But the rails were rusted, and he’d ridden the half-pipes so many times he’d be able to navigate them all with his eyes closed. Well… Maybe not with his eyes closed. He’d tried that a year ago, and all that he’d gained from the experience was a broken wrist and disapproving stare from his best friends.

 

But it was worth it. The broken bones, the concussions, the contusions. The cuts, the scrapes, the stitches. Every injury he’d gotten only proved that he was alive. And by god, did he feel alive. He’d never skated down Rose Hill before, but something had pulled him to this moment, some impulse telling him he belonged up here. And with the wind whipping his bleached hair out of his eyes, the dawn chill running his blood cold, he had no choice but to believe that yeah, he was meant to be here. Although, it also could have been true that Yeosang’s perceived ‘destiny’ was just a feeling from the weed he’d smoked a few hours ago. Nothing like a three in the morning smoke, right? Regardless, the feeling he got staring down the abandoned landscape was one like no other. Something in his heart told him  _ here  _ was right,  _ here  _ was where he was meant to be. A shiver passed through his frame - nervousness, excitement, he didn’t know - as he bent down, letting his board’s wheels hit the trodden earth. It was bumpy. Uneven.  _ Dangerous.  _ And maybe it was true that Yeosang shouldn’t be here, that he should be back in his dorm with his friends, asleep and not high, but he couldn’t change that.

 

All this really was was a chance to prove himself. And not to anybody except himself. Yeosang just wanted to let himself know that he could conquer Rose Hill. He’d be the first. He knew it was possible. He wouldn’t be like everyone else that had tried to skate or bike down the massive, steep hill. He’d survive it. Because Yeosang knew himself, knew he could do it, knew he wasn’t the kind of person to let himself die. The nose of his skateboard teetered perilously over the precipice of the hill, and he knew if the board moved just a centimeter forwards, it would fall. His head was foggy, from both intoxication and exhaustion, but he pushed all that away, foot coming down to rest on his board. He almost lurched forwards, almost lost balance, but was quick to regain his weary footing from digging his heel into the ground. After one last shuddering breath - and a prayer to a god he wasn’t sure if he believed in - he pushed off, foot leaving the ground and taking its rightful place on his skateboard behind his other foot. And he was flying.

 

    He was falling.

 

Yeosang didn’t regret his decision. He just… He knew that maybe - just maybe - it was a stupid one. He lost his footing almost instantly, the second after the front wheels of his board caught on a rock that stuck out from the hill’s soil surface. He was swerving, desperately chasing stability, trying to distribute his weight so that the back wheels would stop digging into the ground. His movements were choppy and rapid, a lethal combination. Yeosang’s heart was racing - and rightfully so, once he realized the position he’d landed himself in - as one of his legs shot out from under him. The board traveled over a root, and from there, slipped out from under Yeosang’s feet and toppled down the hill, faster now with nothing to weigh it down. And Yeosang? He was still in free-fall, momentum bringing his legs out from under him and his chest towards the ground. His survival instincts were kicking in, but they couldn’t do much in his state of hectic disorientation. Before he knew what was happening, his torso was slamming against the hill, face knocking against the ground. He could taste a mix of blood and dirt flood his tongue, and tried his best to cough out both substances as his body continued clattering down the hill, limbs forming a tangle of rapidly forming bruises and wounds. The wind was completely knocked out of him, his eyes were losing their focus on the world around him, he couldn’t tell which way ‘up’ was. His body was aching, bleeding, his head was throbbing, his heart was pounding. Yeosang wasn’t able to discern much of anything, but the threatening gray mass he was hurtling towards didn’t look all that inviting. He heard a crack before feeling anything, but in no lengthy amount of time, the top of his chest exploded in fireworks of pain, white starbursts forming in his field of vision before fading to a silent, muted black. All of his senses were quick to follow suit, entering the crushing darkness.

 

“Yunho? Yunho? Jeong Yunho!” The man calling Yunho ran his hand through his dark hair, tapping his foot impatiently. Yunho was good at his job, although he’d only been working it for two years, but he admittedly had a habit of running late. And for a proclaimed grim reaper, someone who specialized in collecting the souls of the deceased, being timely was important. Highly important.

 

The boy in question came running up to who had been calling him, a breathless “Sorry, Eden-hyung, I was with Wooyoung and he was having a bad day and I was trying to cheer him up because you know that’s what big brothers do and-”

 

“Yunho. It’s alright. I just wanted to let you know that since everyone on shift is booked right now - a mass shooting has just occurred, it was horrendous…” Eded trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes. “I need to start calling on some people off shift for the small accidents back here.” Small accidents. Yunho still found it sad that Eden and the other higher-ups referred to something as catastrophic as death as a ‘small accident’. Although, in fairness, Yunho didn’t know what it was like to be alive. He didn’t know how it felt to stop breathing, he didn’t know what it meant to have your heart skip a beat - although Wooyoung swore he felt that sensation the first time he laid eyes on his now-boyfriend, Seonghwa - and he certainly didn’t know what death was like. But still… Yunho couldn’t bring himself to believe death was a small accident. Regardless, he nodded his head in a strict, professional fashion.

 

“Okay hyung. Sounds good. Who was it, where are they, all that info…”

 

“Well, for starters, I wanna let you know that I’m giving you a job you’ve never had. This kid-” Eden cleared his throat. “This young man, he isn’t dead. He’s severely injured, yes, but not deceased. I’m trusting you to survey him and make the executive decision on if his time has come or not. If it is, just do as you normally do and bring his soul back. And if not? It’s imperative that you get him help. I trust you, and I’ve been hoping to give you a promotion to more intense jobs than just ‘collect this soul, thanks’. His name is Kang Yeosang, he’s just nineteen, and he’s at the bottom of Rose Hill.” Yunho knew Rose Hill. He knew the weight that landform carried, the amount of souls he’d had to claim from the corpses that accumulated from those trying to either conquer the beastly hill or take their own lives. “Come back soon, with or without him.”

 

“Yes, hyung, of course. Thank you for trusting me.” Yunho’s speech still hadn’t lost its formal tone, and his head was nodding in time with the pounding of his heart. The tips of his fingers were already tingling and phasing in and out of existence, getting ready to transport himself into the so-called ‘real world’. “I won’t let you down, I promise. I’ll make the right call, be smart, be-”

 

“I know you will, Yunho. Now go before he truly does perish.”

 

Once again nodding frantically, Yunho closed his eyes - transporting himself between worlds gave him vertigo, as he realized his first time practicing it after throwing up in a nearby hedge - as he felt his body melt away and reform in a quick few seconds at the bottom of Rose Hill. And, okay, yeah, wow… The bleeding lump pressed up against the sizeable boulder at the foot of the hill was in fact a person. A living, breathing person, that Yunho would be deciding the fate of. No pressure. His legs trembled a little, likely as a result of his nerves, as he walked towards the body - no, the person - who rested in what must have been a severely uncomfortable position. There was… God, there was a sizeable amount of blood dripping from cuts on the boy’s elbows, knees, and cheeks. His legs, his waist, his abdomen, all of it looked fine, although bruised and banged up. It was at the top of the boy’s chest where Yunho could easily assess the most damage. His shirt was ripped open, the edges of it tinted a reddish-brown from drying blood. His collarbone - the left one, specifically - appeared to be jutting out at an angle that was nowhere close to normal, nowhere close to healthy. Yunho couldn’t see the boy’s face; the way he had landed had pushed his face against the ground, covered by his shock of golden-blonde hair. Yunho tightened his hands into fists, squeezing his eyes shut and focusing on the boy’s life force. It was there, it was definitely there. To Yunho, it felt like fire. Sparking, burning, neverending… Fighting, devouring everything in its path, and most of all,  _ alive.  _ But Yunho couldn’t be sure just yet.

 

As his eyes opened, he pursed his lips in concentration, determining a way to move the boy from his stomach to his back, if only to take the pressure off his collarbone and to get a good look at his face. He looked down at his thick, clunky boots, smiling contently as he deemed the apparel enough to get this part of his job done. This was a law that all reapers learned in their first few years of existence - they never called it  _ life  _ \- a rule that dictated how they all went about their practice. In their own world, dimension, plane of reality, whatever one wanted to call it, they were free to do as they pleased and make contact with anyone they wanted to (anyone who consented, of course), no matter if the person was a dead soul, a reaper, an angel, a lesser demon, whoever. It didn’t matter there. But here? In the aforementioned ‘real world’? The laws were concrete in importance. A reaper could not touch anyone alive - skin to skin, that is - unless they wanted to bring them to unconsciousness. Just one second of touching someone alive led to one equivalent hour of them passing out, entering a comatose state. But that wasn’t how they’d take a soul, no,  _ that  _ process was entirely different. The elder reapers liked to call it a “kiss of death”, maybe to make it sound appealing to the young ones who were just starting their training. It was in fact true that harvesting a soul required the touching of lips, but it wasn’t a kiss. Just a brush of lips, like reverse CPR with no breathing. Yunho had done it too many times to be phased by it anymore. He stuck his foot out just then, catching a limp arm on the toe of his boot, and gently - very gently; Yunho wasn’t interested in hurting the boy even more - maneuvering him to lie on his back, chest and face exposed to the world.

 

Holy. Fucking.  _ Hell. _

 

__ This boy - Kang Yeosang, if Yunho remembered correctly - was stunning. That probably shouldn’t have been the first thought to enter Yunho’s head, especially since the only view he’d gotten of this boy was the one right here, with dirt smeared across his lips, blood streaked across his cheeks, and skin bloomed with bruises. But still… Yunho could see more than that. Under all the grime. And no, that wasn’t one of his ‘really cool reaper powers’, as Wooyoung liked to call them. It was a quality usually referred to as ‘human’, something not a lot of reapers possessed. Compassion. The traits of a human personality were rare to come up in reapers, and most often occurred in a hereditary manner. Which would make sense as to why Yunho, and Wooyoung as well, felt a connection to the humans and the emotions they felt. Their mother was a reaper, their father a human - dead now, of course, and working in the intelligence department of their headquarters. Maybe that was another reason Eden had sent Yunho out here… Because he knew this decision would require an understanding of mortal being, their motives and desires, their reasoning behind their actions, their care about their own mortality - of the lack thereof.

 

Yeosang, in medical terms, didn’t look good. His beauty had no effect on the fact that he was slowly bleeding out. And Yunho, looking down at the barely breathing life form below him, had to make the decision of whether or not he should get the boy medical assistance, or… Or let him die. Eden had said Yeosang was nineteen - meaning Yunho must be older by a few months, having just recently turned twenty. Yeosang was young. Too young to die - but then again, he was saying this as if he didn’t have to take the souls of even younger teenagers who passed in freak accidents. His heart pounded - even though it didn’t exactly need to, since, once again, Yunho wasn’t exactly  _ alive  _ \- out of his chest, knowing he needed to make a decision determining the boy’s fate, and rapidly. Yunho ran a hand through his hair, pushing the wavy strands off his forehead, as if that would bring him any guidance, any consolation. He… He didn’t know. He couldn’t just let this kid die. Closing his eyes, Yunho bent down to the ground, placing his hand on Yeosang’s chest - careful to avoid any bare patches of skin where the shirt had torn. Behind his eyelids, Yunho could see smiles, four boys with sparkling eyes, their arms outstretched. He saw sunrises like the current one in the real world, he saw dangerous terrain in front of him, he saw hospital beds and x-rays certifying broken bones. He saw starlight, he saw the flames - the heat, the passion, the desire - lusting after an adrenaline rush.

 

He couldn’t let Yeosang die. Yunho came upon this realization with a stark shock as his eyes flew open. This- This was not something he’d ever been trained for. He harvested souls, he took the final bits of their lives away - he didn’t save lives. He was majorly unprepared, and it sent him into a frenzy. If breathing was important to Yunho, the bodily function would most likely become erratic, failing him dramatically. He’d been through a basic course in first aid, once, back at age thirteen, but his memory had started failing him as soon as he realized this was a person he didn’t want to die. Yunho froze for a moment, confused as to where that burst of  _ feeling  _ came from. Yunho didn’t feel things towards humans. They were people who lived and died, so Yunho shouldn’t care about wanting them alive.  _ Shouldn’t.  _

 

Phones. They lived in the twenty-first century. They had technology, they had access to emergency services. But where in the seven levels of hell was Yeosang’s phone? Yunho supposed he couldn’t be too mad, the boy had taken a beating on his tumble down the hill, it would make sense if he lost his phone somewhere along his fall. Still, it angered Yunho. Stupid boy losing his stupid phone making it harder for Yunho to save his stupid life because of some stupid feelings that Yunho needed to sort out over a long cup of tea with Wooyoung and Seonghwa. His foot tapped anxiously for a moment before his eyes fell on a glinting glare from a few meters away. The sun had shifted in the sky, breaking out over the horizon a bit more and casting its light in an angle that reflected off Yeosang’s phone screen, alerting Yunho with its presence. Yunho paused his anxiety to smile up towards the sky. Maybe there was a higher power on his side, helping him out with the new job. The reaper ran over to it, stumbling over his feet, and scooped it up in his large hands, practically dwarfing the device. Emergency number, emergency number… What the hell was the godforsaken emergency number? It was… Was…

    119. It was 119. Yunho in his excitement from remembering the number almost dropped the phone, but regained his composure quickly enough as to not let that happen. His fingers fumbled over the cracked screen of the phone, looking frantically for the button to turn the damn thing on - it wasn’t that Yunho didn’t have a phone himself and didn’t know how they worked; he did, but he was really fucking nervous - and once he did, realized that the same four boys present in the visions he’d seen with his hand close to Yeosang’s heart were present on the phone’s screensaver. Yeosang was there in the picture - it must have been him, although his hair was cherry blossom pink in the photo as opposed to its current honey-blonde. Eyes darting rapidly around the phone, he found the small phone icon at the bottom, labelled ‘Emergency Contacts’, and clicked it furiously. Dialing 119, he cleared his throat. The receiver clicked on, and Yunho steeled his shaky voice. “Hello? Yes, hello. I… There’s…” Yunho inhaled shakily - as if that would do anything for him; the oxygen just sitting in his lungs for a moment before expelling itself. “I’m at the foot of Rose Hill with an unconscious boy. I don’t know how he got here, but I believe he’s severely injured, I think he’s broken a bone or two, and there’s a lot of blood that’s still coming.” He let the operator speak, continuing to answer the question. “Yes, yes, he’s breathing, but please, I need an ambulance. As soon as possible, please.” The woman on the other side, voice level, reassured Yunho that she was already dispatching people to show up as soon as they could, which should apparently only take five to seven minutes. “Alright. Yes, thank you. Yes. I’ll…” Should he stay here? Would that be the right thing? It wasn’t uncommon for reapers to mingle with humans at times - they were relatively accepted in society, their existence was acknowledged, but Yunho didn’t know if exposing himself was the smartest thing to do. “I’ll stay here.” He hung up the phone, letting his arm drop.

 

What was he supposed to tell the paramedics? What if they asked him how he found Yeosang here so early in the morning? Would it look like he tried to kill the boy? Yunho himself didn’t even know what had happened to him, so what would happen if they asked how Yeosang had gotten here, how he’d gotten so injured? The minutes were ticking by all too slowly, and it made Yunho frantic with worry. The ‘what if’s flew around his head at rapid speed, making him dizzy from all his panic. He had done the right thing, right? He’d taken the right steps, right? He’d made the right decision, right? Saving Yeosang’s life was the right call, right? Yeosang would survive, right?

 

“H’llo…?”

 

    Yunho yelped as he heard a sound from below him, croaked out through what sounded like a dead man’s lips. Yeosang. It- How? No. No, no, that was- Impossible. It was impossible. He- After a crash like that?

 

    “Whashapp’ning…?” Yeosang croaked out again, wincing at the taste of dirt in his mouth. “Who…?”

 

    It turned out that Yunho didn’t know the true meaning of the word panic until now. All his words, any of his words, they were just… They were failing him. This- Yeosang- He shouldn’t be conscious, shouldn’t be  _ alive,  _ for the devil’s sake. Did he just have a penchant for avoiding death? Should Yunho had just harvested his soul to avoid whatever was happening? He couldn’t answer Yeosang’s slurred questions, too focused on how this freak of nature was awake and conscious and- looking at Yunho. Holy fuck, he was looking at Yunho. Yunho, who was always more comfortable keeping his identity a secret. Yunho, who’d never before been seen by an alive human. He blinked a few times in quick succession, before focusing on a single task: escape. He bent down quickly, placing the back of his hand on Yeosang’s forehead for just two seconds, and watching his eyes roll back in his head as unconsciousness took his mind over yet again. And now, Yunho could hear it in the distance, the sound of blaring silence. The ambulance. He… He couldn’t be here. He let the phone clatter to the ground - what, the screen was already shattered - and squeezed his eyes shut, the interworld travel seeming much quicker now. When he opened his eyes, he staggered forward, unable to catch his bearings for a few moments. But now? He was fine. He was okay. He was in Eden’s office, which was lovely. Now, he just needed - desperately, desperately needed - to find the man in question.

 

    And in two hours, when Yeosang opened his eyes, tucked safely into a hospital bed - bandaged up, a throbbing pain in his collarbone, and a busted open, swollen lip - he was woozy from pain, to the point where he wasn’t in the right space to register that Hongjoong, Jongho, Mingi, and San - his best friends - were staring at him in a mix of frustration, disappointment, anger, relief, and wonderment. The only thing Yeosang could really think about was the… Vision? Hallucination? He’d seen after crashing into the gray mass he still failed to identify. He was awake, alive, flat on his back, a young man with a concerned expression standing above him. It didn’t seem real. It couldn’t have been. Yeosang felt it deep in his bones - this was the closest he’d come to death. This was the first time he’d been truly scared for his own life, the first time he’d been uncertain about his own fate. Yeosang didn’t know who his words were to, didn’t know if they were supposed to be to anyone but himself, but nonetheless, he slurred out a mumbled, “Think an angel saved m’life…”

 


	2. Guardian Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’d all been in this position many a time before. Yeosang would be stupid and get hurt, and they’d all rush to the hospital to collect his reckless ass. But it had never been this bad. Yeosang had never been close to dying before. A few concussions, sure. A broken leg occurred every so often. But such profuse bleeding from the head, his snapped collar bone… If his head had been just a few degrees tilted more to the right, he would have broken his neck. Shattered his spinal cord. Died. This was the first time Hongjoong, along with Mingi, Jongho, and San, had ever been fearful for their best friend. “But you’re right about the doctors. There’s no permanent brain damage, thank the heavens. But he’s gotta get surgery on his collar bone, stitches for a shit ton of various places, and… We don’t know yet how long he’s gonna take to heal. The collar bone needs anywhere from one to two months, but the concussion will be easier, just a little over a week, we hope. But he can’t skate, can’t bike, nothing. Or else he could really do some irreversible damage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hell yeah this fic is getting updated hahahaha fuck school i have like 6734865876287o assignments i havent started due idek when lezgeddit bitchesssssssss~~~
> 
> anyway!! obligatory warnings - talking about death but this is a cosmicallylyss fic so y'all shouldn't be surprised by now!! also warnings for mentions of needles/surgery/broken bones and the vaguest most innocent talking about an injury for like a sentence
> 
> and this isn't a warning but for anyone interested in the woohwa side ship, there's a small scene with them that's actually relevant to the story bc plot!! and there are small mentions of minjoong (established relationship) and 2choi (it's complicated)
> 
> please enjoy!! and be on the lookout for an upcoming chapter of whisper me a melody!! enjoy reading, my lovelies!!!

“What the hell does he mean by that?” Mingi whispered somewhat loudly, turning his attention away from Yeosang’s hospital bed and towards his friends and boyfriend he’d traveled here with. They all needed to leave and leave quickly, having class today, but there was no way any of the four of them would go to their lessons for a day without checking in on Yeosang. And this time… It was less of a  _ checking in,  _ and more of a  _ he could have easily died  _ type of deal. And it was true. Rose Hill was a killer. A death trap. It murdered everyone who had the unlucky fate to tumble down its steep slope. Everyone except for Yeosang. Yeosang, who rested in delirium on his back, still muttering about this supposed “angel”. “Seriously, guys, I know he got a concussion, but the doctors said there was no serious brain damage. Why is he acting like this?”

 

“Who knows, love…?” Hongjoong had a sad, tired smile on his face. They’d all been in this position many a time before. Yeosang would be stupid and get hurt, and they’d all rush to the hospital to collect his reckless ass. But it had never been this bad. Yeosang had never been close to dying before. A few concussions, sure. A broken leg occurred every so often. But such profuse bleeding from the head, his snapped collar bone… If his head had been just a few degrees tilted more to the right, he would have broken his neck. Shattered his spinal cord. Died. This was the first time Hongjoong, along with Mingi, Jongho, and San, had ever been fearful for their best friend. “But you’re right about the doctors. There’s no permanent brain damage, thank the heavens. But he’s gotta get surgery on his collar bone, stitches for a shit ton of various places, and… We don’t know yet how long he’s gonna take to heal. The collar bone needs anywhere from one to two months, but the concussion will be easier, just a little over a week, we hope. But he can’t skate, can’t bike, nothing. Or else he could really do some irreversible damage.” Hongjoong hated to say that last bit, grimaced as he got a little choked up, but it was true. They almost lost Yeosang this morning.

 

Jongho was pissed about it. For four years, Yeosang had been his best friend. His go-to guy, his rock, his person whenever he needed someone. To be so close to losing him from falling off his fucking skateboard at the asscrack of dawn, still high off of whatever shitty blunt he’d been hitting… His hands fluttered at his sides like crunchy autumn leaves drifting in a harsh breeze, before stilling and curling into fists. “He’s a fucking idiot.” He muttered, a scowl on his face and no light in his eyes. “He’s a goddamn dumbass that can’t take care of himself for the fucking life of him.” His eyes narrowed, eyelashes partly blocking his vision, and he was about to push himself up from the uncomfortable plastic chair and walk over to Yeosang. Give the boy a piece of his mind for scaring him, scaring them  _ all  _ so badly.

 

“Jonggie,” It was San who pulled the younger back by gripping his wrist gently. Jongho felt the various charms from San’s many bracelets cool down his skin. If it were anyone else, Jongh would have yanked his hand away with a snarl and keep on walking. But San… Choi San, his crush for about two years now, was in no way deserving of that kind of harsh treatment. “Not right now, okay? At least let him properly wake up. He’s too doped up on painkillers that he can only feel like half of the pain, let alone talk to you or hear you coherently.” Jongho’s hand dropped then, and San let it go, although it was much to Jongho’s dismay. He nodded in understanding, and curled in on himself, lips forming a pout that was a mix of embarrassed and aggravated.

 

It was true that Yeosang wasn’t able to feel the full extent of his pain, but the agony was still thrumming through his veins. He knew his friends were there, just a few meters in front of him, but talking to them was too much. His mouth felt like cotton, and his head was heavy. Besides, their voices all sounded like they were underwater. It was foggy, it was unclear, and it gave Yeosang even more of a headache. “Shuddup, please…” He muttered lowly, not knowing if they could even hear him - or if they would listen to what he had to request. “Head’s killin’ me…”

 

Hongjoong shot up then, concern washing over his face. He rushed over to Yeosang’s bedside, and opened his mouth, about to say something Yeosang couldn’t decipher, but closed it wordlessly after remembering what Yeosang’s only request had been. He frowned, frustrated, and settled for whispering. “You’re going to need surgery. You’re supposed to go into the operating room in a few hours. The boys and I have to go to class though. We’ll let Professor know that you’ll be out due to medical reasons… Again.” Yeosang could tell Hongjoong was mad at him - all of them probably were, and god, they had a right to be - but he lacked the ability to articulate that he knew that and that he was sorry, so he just closed his eyes. Leaned farther back into the pillow. Mumbled out some garbled syllables as a response. And Hongjoong sighed - huffed in defeat, rather, and shook his head before walking back to San, Mingi, and Jongho. “Guys,” He said flatly. “We need to go.”

 

Maybe they said something to Yeosang before they lefty, but the blonde couldn’t hear it. Just the scuff of sneakers against linoleum floors and hushed, muffled whispers. Yeosang would squeeze his eyes shut if it didn’t cause fresh waves of pain to flood through his system. So instead, he lay completely still, eyes barely closed. He looked like he could be dead. Yeosang knew he shouldn’t be here now. _Here_ meaning alive. He’d figured it was a boulder he crashed into - what other rock-colored hard mass could knock him out like that? But that was the thing… Something of that magnitude, with the way Yeosang crashed against it… If he didn’t instantly die on impact, he surely would have bled out from the deep gash across his hairline. But he didn’t. He knew something had happened. _Someone_ had happened. He couldn’t remember any features, just heavy black boots at eye level. A hand pressing against his forehead. And then he blacked out again, and woke up here. Yeosang knew something had to be up. Angels were real, although they preferred to live in The Utopia, better known as Heaven. And subsequently, demons and reapers were real, which lived in the under worlds. No, not _The Underworld._ It wasn’t Hell or anything like that, as history books had taught regular mortals like Yeosang himself. Just a place that existed on a different plane of reality. Still in this same world, this same dimension. It was _here,_ but it was also elsewhere. The reapers ran the under worlds, and they were elusive, much less common to be seen than angels. It _had_ to be an angel that saved Yeosang. No worldly, mortal creature would be able to do such a thing. Demons never left the under worlds, and all reapers did was kill. And a mortal would have the human sense to stay with him at least until… Until… Yeosang grimaced as he realized he had no idea how he got here. An ambulance, probably. But it wasn’t like he had called one.

 

It really must have been an angel… Yeosang felt his bones ache again, felt himself grow exhausted. And admittedly, still a little buzzed from his now fading high. Maybe it was the drugs in his system mixed with the realization that he should be dead right now that brought tears to his eyes, because, well, Yeosang didn’t want to die. Was he careless? Yep. Reckless? Hell yeah. But he never once did his daredevil adventures with the intention of dying. Death, it… It terrified him. His father had passed away when Yeosang was ten years old - Yeosang had walked in the house after school one day to find his father collapsed on the floor, blue in the face - and dying had been a petrifying concept ever since that day. If it wasn’t so painful, Yeosang would have shuddered as the tears barreled past the brim of his eyelids to drip down the bruised planes of his face. He missed his father, terribly, and he wished every day for the chance to see him again and to say “I love you, dad.” one last time. Yeosang’s mouth twisted into a tight-lipped frown. He should be dead. He shouldn’t have survived Rose Hill. Nobody did. He’d been the first, and- oh god, what if people came to interview him? What if they didn’t believe he was just a mortal with an overly generous guardian angel and tried to test on him, believing he was something other than human? Did angels or reapers ever even get tested on? Was that a thing that happened? God, Yeosang needed to stop skipping his Otherworldly Beings History classes to hit up the skate park… The thought made him giggle for a bit, which shook his whole frame and sent him into a spiral of blinding pain. That was another reason the tears started to fall, and harder this time. He didn’t know how long he was lying there with his eyes closed, a steady stream of tears falling from them, but it must have been the ‘hours’ Hongjoong had talked about, because a nurse walked up to him and gently called out his name.

 

“Kang Yeosang? Yes, hello young man… We’re going to take you into the operating room now, alright? You’ll have to be put under for this procedure, and since you’re a legal adult I’m going to need your signature on a consent form. When you come back around after the surgery is complete, your doctor will be visiting with you to instruct you on proper recovery time and technique. We might be keeping you a day or two to see how your body is responding to the surgery, but after that you should be good to go.” Well… It wasn’t like Yeosang had never been operated on. But still, he had a crippling fear of needles that breached into the territory of anaesthetics. But if his guardian angel thought he was worth saving, he could stomach getting punctured by the tiny daggers that would inject fluids into his bloodstream to render him unconscious… Yeah. He could do this. Sure.

 

Although Yeosang’s anxieties had spiked when the injection happened, the procedure went smoothly, and when he woke up, he was pleased to feel at least a little bit better. A mirror next to his bed showed him that he’d gotten more than a few stitches, and the blood had been wiped off his face. There was a bandage around his head, but none of his hair had been shaved off.  _ Thank. God.  _ Yeosang had only had that happen once, and it alerted the world around him that this stoner skater boy looked much better with long bangs as opposed to a buzz cut. The biggest thing was probably the sling sort of cast that encased half his torso. A strap, most likely polyester, wrapped around from his sternum over his right shoulder to connect to yet another strap made of the same material around his slender waist. His left arm was held in a typical sling connected to both straps, held snug against his arm and unable to move. At least he was right-handed… The doctor came in, made his speech, and bored Yeosang half to death - although maybe it was still too soon to joke like that… Anyway, Yeosang had learned that he’d need five weeks to heal. The first week he was sentenced to bedrest, the second he could begin limited physical activity but still be on house arrest, the third he could leave the house and still not do much, but by the fourth and fifth he was allowed to walk around normally. But no strenuous physical activities. No sports. And much to Yeosang’s dismay, no skateboarding. Thirty-five days of no skateboarding.

 

But now, it was thirty-five days later. Just a little over a month. And though the brace had just come off this morning, and he’d gotten an ‘all clear’ from his physician this afternoon, he was standing at the mouth of a graffiti covered halfpipe, skateboard in hand. Thankfully, even after his accident, his board - his pride and joy, really - was still useable. The evening wind was whipping in his hair, the sunset illuminating his frame and heightening the saturation of his golden skin. His best friends hadn’t come with him - they’d actually advised against him coming here - but Yeosang couldn’t exactly bring himself to care. He needed to feel the wind beat against his face, he needed to feel the sting that came with scraping his knees on the concrete. This was his life, and after thirty-five damn days of not being able to live it, he wasn’t going to allow himself to be suffocated any longer. He placed his board down gently, the nose just barely hanging off the drop of the halfpipe, and stretched his back and shoulders - nothing ached anymore - before placing his left foot on the board. His heart drummed in his chest a bit nervously, admittedly, as if this was his first time skateboarding. Letting out a deep exhale, he smiled softly, and pushed himself over the edge of the halfpipe. He wobbled a bit, teetering to the left and right, before ultimately losing balance and falling to his hands and knees in the middle of the halfpipe. He cursed as the skin that scratched against the ground tore and fell off, letting the faintest traces of blood come to the surface. The outburst wasn’t from pain or embarrassment. He was just a bit angered that his skills were rusty. He’d never been put off-duty for five weeks. His previous longest stretch to go without skating was three weeks. This was a lifetime in comparison.

 

A young man a few years older than Yeosang that the blonde was decently friendly with who happened to also be at the skate park skidded down to where Yeosang had fallen, and offered his hand to Yeosang. “Yeo-ssi, you alright? I haven’t seen you around recently.”

 

Before taking his hand, Yeosang wiped his own on his shirt to get the blood off as best he could -  _ Sorry, Thrasher shirt, but you’re dark and blood won’t show up on you.  _ \- and then grabbed the other’s hand and let himself be pulled up. “Yeah, Hongbin-hyung,” Yeosang started, wincing at the feeling of skin against his bare scratches. “I survived Rose Hill, but I was out for a little. Five weeks was today.” The older gaped at him in disbelief for a moment, and Yeosang shot him a lazy smirk. “But hey, that just means I gotta practice ‘til I get better than I already was before the accident.”

 

Yunho shot up from where he was sitting as a twinge of pain flickered through his hands and knees. “Yunho-yah, what in the levels of Hell was that?” Wooyoung asked in confusion as his older brother bit back a curse, furrowing his brow as he sat back down.

 

“I-” The reaper began, frowning. “I don’t know. It was… That phantom pain I’d gotten that day I… You know… The day I saved that kid’s life.”  _ That kid,  _ yeah. It totally wasn’t like Yunho had thought about the beautiful nineteen year old skateboarder Kang Yeosang on a daily basis ever since he made the executive decision to save the boy’s life. “I haven’t felt it in ages, five weeks to be exact… And just now it wasn’t much, but yeah, wow, uh…” He trailed off yet again, wringing his hands nervously. “Should I talk to Eden-hyung about this?”

 

“No.” Seonghwa’s voice came from where he was lounging on Wooyoung’s bed, sultry and seductive. Fitting of the fallen angel to have a voice like molten sex appeal. “Not when you’ve got me as a weapon in your intelligence arsenal.”

 

“Babe…” Wooyoung sighed as he rolled over on his bed to snuggle in closer to his boyfriend’s side. “Nobody talks like that. This is the twenty-first century.” Seonghwa rolled his eyes, and Yunho laughed from his spot on the loveseat at the foot of the bed. And to be fair, it was true that Seonghwa didn’t exactly speak with the slang of someone born in today’s recent two generations. He’d been born three hundred and thirty-eight years ago, but he’d adapted well. He used to be an angel living in The Utopia, but… It wasn’t Yunho’s place to talk about the elder’s fate. Even with his troublesome past and age - he’d stopped aging at twenty-one, when his brother- No, Yunho wouldn’t say - Wooyoung had still found something within Seonghwa to love and cherish. The two had been together for almost a year and a half now, and it made Yunho more than ecstatic to know his brother and closest friend were happy with dating each other.

 

“Disregarding the insolence,” Seonghwa muttered, “I believe it would be beneficial if I were the one to help you discover the roots of this ‘phantom pain’, as my age trumps that of Eden-ah more than eight times over. As knowledgeable as your hyung may be, my years of wisdom make me better versed in this caliber of events.”

 

“Using today’s language,” Wooyoung began through snickers, “Hm… ‘Whatever, I’m better to help you figure this shit out because yeah Eden-hyung’s smart but I’ve been around longer so I can help more.’ Isn’t that right, hyungie-yah?”

 

“I will not have sex with you tonight if you keep this up, brat.” Seonghwa mutters, digging his fingers into Wooyoung’s hips and making the younger laugh, loud and clear and high-pitched. “But that is correct, that is what my speech meant.”

 

“Seonghwa-hyung…” Yunho complained mid-cringe. “Please, for the love of the Devil, do  _ not  _ talk about fucking my brother in front of me.”

 

“Yunnie, you’ve literally walked in on hyung balls-deep inside of m-”

 

“Holy shit, Wooyoung-ah, we’re stopping this!” Yunho interrupted, the tips of his ears flushing red. “Just… hyung, please help me figure this out. And Wooyoung, as your older brother, I demand you shut the hell up and let your boyfriend talk.”

 

“To begin… Physical responses to stimuli are reactions present in all humanoid creatures. For humans - mortals, if you will - they can only experience these responses between themselves and whatever it may be that they are making contact with in that very moment. As for beings like you, Wooyoung, and myself, we experience these events differently. As an example,” Seonghwa stilled for a moment. His eyes flashed red for a second, and his wings - blackened, now - pushed at the seams of his silk shirt before he inhaled steadily and recessed the appendages so that they vanished from the physical world, currently residing in a different reality plane until he deemed them useful. “My relationship with my brother. After casting me down from Heaven, damning me to this place for the rest of my eternity-” He scowled, but mollified himself just as quickly. “Although, I mustn’t be angry, because his actions bestowed upon me the love of my life… Continuing on, our final moments existed between reality planes where I slaughtered him centuries ago in a moment of feral rage, anger at the fate he’d thrust me into when I was just twenty-one years of age. He is a body I both wish I could miss, and a body I wish eternal hell upon. There are remnants of his corpse that only remain in an emotional sense for me. But that emotional connection is a tether based on life and death. When his soul - an ancient entity that resides in a different worldly plane - experiences pain, I am exposed to that same feeling. It is located deep down in my soul, in a region locked away to any others. I experience this ‘phantom pain’, as you’ve described it, on an emotional level, but during my time in existence, I’ve been regaled with tales of a physical connection like my emotional one occurring in others. But it’s always been between non-mortals. Never once has it involved a mortal like your circumstance does. Although you do share one thread - it was a matter involving life and death.”

 

“Was I supposed to let him die?” Yunho’s pitch rose as did his panic. “Something about him just told me to let him live, I- I couldn’t take his soul, take his life. He’s got so much to live for…” Yunho pictured it then. Yeosang, free of injury, skating happily and flashing Yunho - wait, why had his mind conjured him there? - a blinding smile, eyes forming small crescent moons of elation.  _ Alive.  _ “Was it selfish to let him live?” He looked in horror at the two boys on the bed, eyes wide and glassy. “I… No, no, I made the right choice. But- this connection, it- it shouldn’t be there. I did something wrong, shit, Eden-hyung is going to have my head on a spike, I-” Yunho gulped and exhaled shakily, even though the respiration was unnecessary. “I need to tell him.” He resigned to this decision, already standing up and shoving his hands deep into his pale yellow sweatshirt’s pockets. “He’ll fire me, but I can deal with that. I’ll find another job. But…” He remembered how lifeless Yeosang had looked. Was he supposed to have let the boy die? “If I made the wrong decision, if I permanently screwed over Yeosangie-” Yunho flushed a deep crimson at the nickname he’d accidentally spilled. “-that’s something I’ll never be able to forgive myself for.” Tapping his foot against the carpeted floor to calm his anxieties really did nothing to help him. “I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow, guys. Enjoy your night.”

 

“Hyung-” Wooyoung propped himself up on his elbows, mouth downturned in worry. “Wait-”

 

“I’m fine, Wooyoungie. Or I will be. This is something Eden-hyung needs to know, even if it really was the right decision and there was some system glitch that made me gain this connection with the boy. Don’t worry about me.” It was easy for Yunho to say, but internally he still believed he was going to get torn into by an irate Eden and fired from the job he cared so deeply for. Walking out in silence and locking the bedroom door, he fought the urge to duck his head in shame.

 

“Seonghwa-hyung?” Wooyoung asked nervously. His voice had dropped to a whisper. “Should I be worried?”

 

“Oh, my precious cloud…” Seonghwa ran a hand through Wooyoung’s violet hair. That was one of the beautiful things about angels - fallen or not. They could touch a reaper without falling under their power and succumbing to a state of unconsciousness. “I believe your brother will not suffer through Eden’s wrath, nor will he receive any consequences from his actions. If there should be concern placed on any organism, it should be towards his human.”

 

Wooyoung couldn’t help but press farther into his lover’s hand. “What do you mean by  _ his  _ human?”

 

“There is much to explain, my flower. Too much, I might add.” Seonghwa said with an air of finalization. “Ancient lore, lore that is an elder even compared to me, as surprising as that may seem to a young one such as yourself. If you do thirst for knowledge, let me quench it by saying a bond such as the one your brother shoulders is one that, if running unchecked, will take a great toll from him. Its power is one that can exhaust someone such as an angel, a reaper, or even a demon. To have a mortal uphold that bond as well… It is unheard of.”

 

“Hm…” Wooyoung licked his lips and sucked the lower one into his mouth for a moment. “My lovely sunset?” He prodded, rolling over so that he could situate himself on his boyfriend’s lap.

 

“Yes?” Seonghwa answered the call as he placed his hands on Wooyoung’s lithe waist.

 

“Can you kiss me now?”

 

“Anything to make you smile, my love.”

 

“You’re my world.” Wooyoung breathed out happily, leaning down to connect his lips to Seonghwa’s in a slow, languid kiss. Another thing about being any form of angel - the reaper’s infamous, inescapable kiss of death was harmless to them. The danger level was negligible, one that would be comparable to a kiss shared between two mortals.

 

“And you are my eternity.” Seonghwa grinned against Wooyoung’s mouth, his eyes fluttering shut. Rolling them over so that he could be the one above Wooyoung instead of the other way around, he felt warmth reminiscent of a summery breeze from The Utopia bloom in his stomach. Although he hadn’t felt the real thing in centuries, he had a substitute in the form of Wooyoung. And it was one that Seonghwa considered to be better than the real thing, something that made his legacy and fate as a fallen angel infinitely more bearable.

 

Yunho had made the walk to Eden’s office as quick as possible, his footfalls pounding against the tile floors in the headquarters’ complex where adult reapers and employers of high status, such as Eden, lived. “It’s Jeong Yunho, sir.” He stammered as his fist pounded on the heavy oak door. “Can I c-”

 

“Come in, Yunho-yah.” Eden’s muffled voice traveled through the door, and Yunho opened it and stepped inside, only able to make eye contact with the hardwood flooring. “Your working hours start tomorrow, is everything alright? Also, I know I’ve said this before, but there’s no need to give me any formal title save for ‘hyung’. It’s true I’m your boss, but I do consider you a friend. You’re a good young man.”

 

That, although it couldn’t have been Eden’s intention, made Yunho feel even worse. “I might have made a grave mistake. Five weeks ago, when you gave me that special job-”

 

“Kang Yeosang?”

 

“-Yes, si- Uh, yes, hyung. When I was dispatched to take care of that situation, I saved the boy. I am the reason he’s alive. And now… There’s some sort of physical pain I’m experiencing. Although I don’t know for sure, it’s most likely something where any pain the boy feels, I feel too, but in a lesser degree. It happened again today, and, I… I asked Seonghwa-hyung about it, and he told me of some life-and-death connection between angels and between reapers, and sometime between the two groups of non-mortals, but… It’s never happened with a mortal before, I don’t think. And I- I’m scared.” Yunho admitted bashfully. “I feel like I made a mistake in my job, and I understand if I lose my job because of this, but I wanted to tell you first-hand before word got out to anyone else and it caused a scandal. I’m sorry…”

 

“Oh, Yunho…” Eden ran a hand through his wavy platinum hair. “Things change. The world evolves. And this Kang Yeosang was the first and only mortal to survive a descent - a  _ plummet  _ \- down Rose Hill. Maybe tradition and old values said that he shouldn’t have survived, but your decision started a new era in the history books. You and your human now have a connection that’s the first interspecies relation. That is, one between a mortal and non-mortal.”

 

_ Your human…  _ Yunho had no idea what Eden could have meant by that phrase. “Wait, hyung, so I’m not fired?”

 

“Heavens no, Yunho. In fact, I’m going to give you a new set of plans for tomorrow. Go to the upper world, to where Kang Yeosang is located. Reveal yourself -  _ what  _ you are - to him, and keep him conscious for it. You’ve involved this boy in your future. It’s only right to let him know of that fact. Interact with him.” Eden paused for a moment, seeming to weigh over word choice in his head. “You’ve never really gotten the chance to  _ interact  _ in  _ certain ways,  _ and maybe this adventure with the boy will provide with some chances.” Eden could see the wheels in Yunho’s mind turning, and he huffed. Simplifying it, he stared Yunho straight in the face. “You need to get over whatever feeling you’re harboring about this situation - any at all, good or bad, romantic or otherwise - and tell Kang Yeosang you’re a reaper. You need to see how far this connection goes. Test its boundaries.

  
Yunho almost choked at the notion - the  _ order,  _ rather. “I need to do  _ what  _ now?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeosang is healed and already back to his bullshit and yunho is gay panicking for weeks!! shout out to hongsanjonggi for being good friends, woo for being the best brother & best boyfriend, and seonghwa for using a line of dialogue from my english project woohoo~~ see yall im doing soommmmmeeee work!!!! also @ woohwa getting it on bc even if there's a side ship, im still giving them scenes or else it's not a cosmicallylyss fic~~ I hope this was an enjoyable chapter!!! thank y'all for waiting im so slow pls murder me--
> 
> Have a stellar day/night, ATINY!!!! Vote for ATEEZ on IdolChamp!!!  
> xoxo, Lyss <3


	3. Novice Drug Dealer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho became aware of how out of place he looked, and it made his anxieties rise. He couldn’t tell if it was the heat or his nerves that was causing him to start breaking a sweat. If there was one thing Yunho hated, it was sticking out. He was pretty tall, and in this scenario, fit in absolutely nowhere. He recoiled into himself a bit, seeking out the shade. There was a part of him that so desperately wanted to jump back home and apologize profusely to Eden for instantly giving up. The one thing that was keeping Yunho going was the faith Eden, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa had in him. Part of a reaper’s hardwiring allowed them to do simple medical scans of humans, checking their vitals and history with injury and illness, so Yunho decided on trying to find Yeosang that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, loves!!! thank you for not abandoning this book... with school starting up again and me being sick, it gets a little difficult finding time to write, but I'm still going to try my hardest to get chapters out for you all. the warnings for this chapter are basically, uh... yunho is a death worker. he works with death. death can happen in bad ways. mentions of those ways show up for a split second. ALSO STREAM WONDERLAND YAAAYY ATEEZ COMEBACK ATEEZ ROTY WONDERLAND SOTY ALL TO ACTION AOTY
> 
> **This chapter, and the rest of this fic from now on, has been beta-read and edited by the absolutely amazing wonderful superb @NOIRYUNHO (on twitter)!! this fic would be absolutely nowhere without them, and i'll never stop being grateful for the amount of work they've done for me <3**
> 
> enjoy the read!!!

“Hyungie, please tell me why you’re so worried? This is a score! Your job description now requires you to talk to the boy you like!” Wooyoung sounded almost exasperated. “There’s no downside here! Just find him and explain the situation, and then you can ask him out or something! Have a first date, a first kiss, it-” 

****

“Wooyoung, are you even hearing yourself talk? Take a second to actually think back to what you just said. You know what happens when we kiss mortals. It kills them. If I could have something like you and Seonghwa-hyung, believe me, I would.” Yunho glanced over at Seonghwa, who was sitting idly on the chair in Yunho’s room, face expressionless. “I’d put Yeosang into a coma just from hugging him.” With his eyes half-lidded and downcast, Yunho looked absolutely dejected. When he had cut Wooyoung off, he hadn’t even been able to look up at his younger brother, too emotionally exhausted to lift his gaze up from the floor. Some sick part of Yunho knew he was jealous of his little brother, and he didn’t have the heart to look at Wooyoung while he was green with envy. “I don’t have it as easy as you. I wish I did, but I guess I’ve been created as the unluckiest reaper in the world.”

****

“But mom loved a human and it worked out fine. Maybe it’s a genetic thing? If it was actually impossible like you’re saying, you and I wouldn’t be here.” Wooyoung retaliated.

****

“Mom only entered a relationship with dad after he passed from his mortal life. Things aren’t going to work out between Yeosang and I. It’s fate, Wooyoung. But it’s really no big deal, hell, he probably doesn’t even remember me. He was close to dead when he saw me, so I’d be shocked. I’ll just go up there and tell him I’m the reaper that saved his life, and that’ll be the end of it.” Yunho saw how Wooyoung’s face fell, and before the younger could say anything, he continued. “I don’t want your pity, okay? And I need to get dressed, so can the both of you go back to one of your bedrooms or something? Please?”

****

Wooyoung turned his attention to Seonghwa, looking for an alternate route. “You gotta say something. C’mon, hyung, please.”

****

“Wooyoung-ah…” The fallen angel’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I can not restate it enough times. It would be the most ill-advised. Especially considering the fact that your brother was born bearing the human trait of empathy… It would be better to let things work out as fate has planned.” 

****

“Dammit, hyung!” Wooyoung’s eyes were shining with frustrated tears. “Please,” Wooyoung’s voice softened. “You know I can’t lie to my big brother like that.”

****

“Hold on, hold on-” Yunho had looked up from the floor at that moment, more than just a bit alarmed. As a defense mechanism that was admittedly unneeded, he squared his shoulders and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What are you two keeping from me?”

****

Wooyoung and Seonghwa exchanged a million word conversation with just a few spared glances, but an agreement couldn’t be reached; Yunho could tell that much from how the dominant emotion they looked at each other with was frustration, not love. “If nothing changes between the bond you and the mortal share, it’ll wear down your powers to almost nothing. It’ll kill you, Yunho. That’s what Seonghwa told me last night. It’ll kill you and the kid if you don’t do anything about this.”

****

“Your brother has misinterpreted what I informed him of, Yunho-yah.” The room was mixed with different energies. Wooyoung’s was peaking at an emotional state, mostly concern. Yunho had already been worried, and now it turned to near panic upon Wooyoung’s latest words. His jaw was clenched, eyes wide. He needed an explanation from one of them, and he needed it now. Seonghwa, however, was a constant and steady energy bleeding through the undercurrents in the room, the only calming presence. “Never, at least never in recorded history if not all of life, has there been an account of a bond similar to the one shared between you and your human. There has most definitely been instances between non-mortal species, such as me and my deceased brother. There have also been records describing a similar bond between different non-mortal species, as in the kind between reapers and angels. But to hear of a sort of covenant between an otherworldly being such as yourself and a human… It’s absurd. Nonsensical. The bond isn’t deadly for non-immortals, but it can exhaust us immensely. Mortal energy is a tricky sort of thing in how it affects reapers. Their energy is the epitome of life, and yours of death. The world has shown time and time again that life always wants to prevail. Their force does a lot to combat yours, but luckily the non-mortality you and all reapers possess means that you can’t feel it affect you. However, overexposure to a human’s life force can wear even the strongest non-mortal’s abilities down. You must believe me, Yunho; I speak from experience. It is true that my bondmate was non-mortal, so we do differ in that regard. Still, I was weakened by the connection during its first years of existence. It was almost debilitating for me, so I can not begin to fathom the toll it will take on you or your human.” 

****

“Why do you keep saying  _ my _ human?” Yunho asked, processing Seonghwa’s words. He was trying to stay calm about the whole situation, Seonghwa making it much easier. The older man had worlds of experience over Yunho; whatever he said, Yunho would believe. “We aren’t together, he isn’t mine. It makes no sense as to why him and I make for any sort of special case.”

****

“Oh, Yunho…” Seonghwa beckoned for Yunho to come closer, and the reaper obliged to the wordless request, steps shaky. Seonghwa had to stand up in order to pull the younger into a hug. For someone typically as ancient in custom as Seonghwa, a hug for someone other than Wooyoung was unheard of. Although Yunho had a few centimeters in height on Seonghwa, it was almost too easy to feel small in the older’s grip. It felt as if he was a little boy again, being held by his mother. He didn’t notice that he’d been shivering until Seonghwa’s black and feathery wings wrapped around him and coated him with a blanket of warmth. “Once you’ve experienced as much as I have, you’ll realize that possession goes beyond love and slavery. Your souls are intertwined in a way that can only be broken by God or Satan themselves. You’ve not claimed his heart in adoration, nor his hand in marriage, neither his forced labor. You’ve unintentionally bonded your souls, so that each of you claim a piece of each other. I’m regretful when I say I have no advice to give you, but I can give you my word that you will have me as a resource and support system every day in your journey. Wooyoung and I will leave you now,” Seonghwa pulled back to look at Yunho closely. “You’ll get through this day wonderfully. All you need to do is be honest, and you’ll be fine.”

****

Yunho was still shell-shocked when the two boys exited his room, hand in hand and seemingly already deeply invested in a conversation. He needed to take a few minutes to sit down on his bed - lie down on it, rather - and just breathe. He didn’t need to, as a reaper. Although the non-humans possessed the bodies of such, and had vital organs, they were largely unnecessary, and didn’t need to function to keep the subspecies alive, but the repetitive action was calming. He was able to sit up without his head swimming after those few minutes, thankfully, and was calmer as he approached his closet. He’d finished everything to get ready for his day save for getting dressed, liking to save that task until last, especially since Yunho was one for big, light, and loose clothing. In the under worlds, Yunho had the luxury of wearing the clothes he was most comfortable with. More often than not, he chose bright sweaters or patterned tees to wear. In the upperworld, though, dark and tight fitting clothes were a part of the job description. It was one of Yunho’s least favorite things about his career. A reaper was taught from birth to blend into the shadows and to never let their skin be exposed. Putting a human life at risk could get reapers fired from their jobs in the upperworld. Yunho had seen it happened before, and it wasn’t pretty to say the least. He forced an unnecessary sigh from his lips and threw the door open in a dramatic fashion that would be typical of Wooyoung, not Yunho. Yunho had a bit of a habit of upping the dramatics when something made him upset or uneasy, a coping mechanism of sorts, and that was exactly what was happening now. He had his normal section of clothes, mostly big sweaters and tee shirts of various pastel colors, but if he looked slightly to his right, his ‘work clothes’ were quite literally a black spot on the aesthetic of his room. Black skinny jeans and a lightweight black turtleneck were his safest bet, although he hated how constricting and itchy the denim and wool felt against his skin. The faster Yunho got ready, the faster he’d be able to get his dreaded talk over and done with, allowing him to get back home and out of his uncomfortable clothes. So, he put them on as fast as possible, instantly trying to ignore the scratchiness of the sweater. Black boots and tight leather black gloves completed the look and kept him covered from his chin down to his feet. It was still in the warm months, and Yunho was here dressed for the dead middle of winter. He couldn’t even bother to look in the mirror, didn’t want to see his mismatched outfit that could better pass as a poor attempt of a goth starving artist.

****

As Yunho closed his eyes as to not get nauseous during his travel, and thanked whichever higher power that was listening for letting him not empty all the contents in his stomach during the brief interworld travel. The jump was always infinitely harder when his nerves were spiking, and he’d thrown up after a few of them more times than he’d like to admit. Slowly blinking his eyes open to accommodate his eyes to the harsh sunlight, Yunho used his somewhat limited knowledge of the upper world to deduce that yes, he was in fact in the local skate park in the city that Yeosang lived in, Seoul. Although, he really didn’t need that extensive knowledge. The overwhelming smell of Axe body spray and beanies so worn they were falling apart were more than enough to clue Yunho in on his location. And the skateboards everywhere. Those too.

****

In an instant, Yunho became aware of how out of place he looked, and it made his anxieties rise. He couldn’t tell if it was the heat or his nerves that was causing him to start breaking a sweat. If there was one thing Yunho hated, it was sticking out. He was pretty tall, and in this scenario, fit in absolutely nowhere. He recoiled into himself a bit, seeking out the shade.  _ Great. _ Yunho bitterly thought to himself.  _ Now I just look like a fucking vampire. Just what I need. _ There was a part of him that so desperately wanted to jump back home and apologize profusely to Eden for instantly giving up. The one thing that was keeping Yunho going was the faith Eden, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa had in him. Part of a reaper’s hardwiring allowed them to do simple medical scans of humans, checking their vitals and history with injury and illness, so Yunho decided on trying to find Yeosang that way. He figured it would have been the easiest route to take, but the sheer amount of boys with recent injuries proved him wrong. It was difficult to not become discouraged, but Yunho kept trying, not wanting to disappoint the three people that had faith in him. He specified his scan further then, checking for boys that had been hospitalized just over five weeks ago, and his brain flashed white hot when his target was sought out. Although being a reaper was full of shortcomings, Yunho considered the abilities that came with the subspecies a blessing at times like these.

****

He had a clear picture of Yeosang in his mind now. Blue beanie covering his honey blonde hair, plain black tee and a pair of basketball shorts. Yunho had previously seen some of the skaters with shorts so low on their bodies that their underwear was on full display to see, something that Yunho couldn’t understand. Underwear was meant to be hidden under clothes, unless the humans had changed that rule. Anyway, Yunho was grateful that Yeosang hadn’t donned that…  _ interesting  _ sort of style, and instead was wearing his shorts properly. Regardless of the nuances of mortal fashion sense, Yunho knew finding Yeosang was the most important order of business he needed to attend to. Walking slowly out from under the trees - and into the sunlight where he felt the air get hotter and heavier - he wrung his hands together nervously. He tried not to think that he was being stared at, tried his damndest to believe that the slight gasps and whispers weren’t because of him passing by, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult when people were literally stepping away from him. All Yunho could really do to get his mind off of his anxieties was to take a deep breath and keep on looking for that head of honey blonde. When Yunho spotted what undoubtedly had to be Yeosang, he would be ashamed to admit he almost tripped over his two left feet and crashed helplessly against the ground. Yunho had thought Yeosang looked absolutely stunning when he’d first seen the boy, bloody and battered at the bottom of Rose Hill, on the verge of death. Now, fully healed, honey blonde hair whipping in a wind he was creating… He looked even more beautiful. Yeosang seemed to be flying across the rails and… whatever other terminology existed for regions of a skatepark. Yunho really was going to have to update himself on all this language, wasn’t he? Yeosang looked so different now, alive and thriving and face flushed red from adrenaline, doing what looked like a thousand tricks Yunho couldn’t possibly fathom the names of.

****

“Hello?” Yunho’s voice came out as less than a meek whisper as Yeosang flew past him, so he wasn’t going to let himself be surprised that Yeosang had no reaction and just passed by as if Yunho wasn’t even there. There seemed to be a crowd cheering for him, four boys that clapped loudly whenever he sped by. Maybe starting there would help him get close enough to Yeosang to be able to relay the eventful news? He slowly started to pad across the concrete, keeping his head ducked low and his shoulders hunched up high. When he arrived towards the line of four, there was a war in his head. Which one should they talk to? Were they even friendly? “Hi there,” Yunho’s voice sounded a breath away from breaking. “I, uh, do you know Kang Yeosang? I need to talk to him if, um, if that’s okay…”

****

A young man that appeared to be a sizeable amount of centimeters shorter than Yunho fixed him with a look of contempt. His eyes, slightly covered by bright red bangs, were narrowed in a mix of suspicion and discontent. Yunho was now exponentially more nervous, more than slightly intimidated by the shorter boy standing in front of him. “Are you Sang’s new dealer? Because damn, if so, you’re doing a shit job at being discreet.”

****

“Dealer?” Yunho’s blood was running hot from the temperature and his embarrassment, making his cheeks flush a dark red. “No, I’m not into any of that sort of stuff, I just, uh… I gotta talk with him about his accident, please.”

****

The redheaded boy still wasn’t having any of what Yunho had to say. He crossed his arms over his chest as his eyebrow quirked up. “Accident? Yeosang has had many of those, you need to be more specific.”

****

Yunho gulped down a breath he didn’t need to take. “The big one,” He mumbled, eyes falling down to the concrete. “Five weeks ago,” He continued, feeling smaller by the second. The three others had started to talk amongst themselves, hushed whispers hidden behind calloused and paint stained hands. “Rose Hill.”

****

The boy’s arms dropped from his chest as his face went a ghastly white. His cherry red lips parted, about to say something, but Yeosang speeding past him had cut him off before he could start. “Hongjoong-hyung,” Yeosang’s voice was a low but lilting melody as he called out what must have been the redhead’s name. “When are we going back to San’s, I’m getting exhausted.”

****

“Yeosang.” Hongjoong’s tone was undeniably flat. “Stop skating, come here. There’s someone here that… knows you.”

****

Yunho could see Yeosang’s eye roll even though he was meters away, and he almost felt bad for the Hongjoong boy. Thankfully for the redhead, Yeosang came to a slowed pace as he neared him once again. “Okay, hyung, what’s u-” Yeosang couldn’t finish his sentence. He locked eyes with Yunho, and his mouth dropped open in shock. His body’s momentum ceased instantly, and his board flew out from under his feet, leaving Yeosang sprawled out on his back. Yunho could feel a dull ache arise at the base of his spine, and his left elbow started to twinge with a stinging sort of pain. “Fuck…” Yeosang groaned from on the ground. The four of his friends were crowding around him, looking at him in near horror, bombarding him with questions about his health. Yunho tried to slink away as best he could. Yeosang motioned for one of the boys - one with black hair and a sharp jawline - to bend down near him and give him some object he’d been holding. When Yeosang brought the item to his lips, Yunho was able to get a better view of it and realize what it was - a blunt. Yeosang’s eyes fluttered shut as he took a drag and handed it back to San, who bent down to stub it out against the concrete pavement. “Hey angel,” Yeosang called out, voice gravelly. Yunho tensed. Yeosang couldn’t possibly mean  _ him, _ right? “In the all black? Looking like a novice drug dealer? Yeah, you, come here?”

****

Yunho squeezed his eyes shut, uncomfortably hot in his clothes. His heart rate was skyrocketing, but he forced it to slow before he turned and took a few steps towards Yeosang. The same thoughts that had formulated in his mind when he’d first seen Yeosang were back - beautiful, so beautiful - and amplified now by the fact that the blonde wasn’t covered in bruises masked by his own blood. “Can you stand up please?” Yunho asked quietly. “I don’t want to meet you again where you’re on the ground after your skateboard gets away from you…” Yunho wanted to hide his head in his gloved hands and retreat from the upper world forever. He expected for Yeosang to be aggravated and scoff, completely denying his request - who wouldn’t? - but instead he just giggled, pushed himself up to a seated position, and made a half-attempt at grabby hands towards one of his friends - the one that looked the most muscular - until he’d been lifted to his feet.

****

“You… You were the one to call the hospital, weren’t you? You found me that day, right? It was you who called an ambulance for me?” Yeosang asked in a soft voice, one that wasn’t anything like what his outward appearance might suggest. Yunho tried to stammer out some form of response, but couldn’t get past the first syllable. “Come on, I’d know that face anywhere. You’re my guardian angel, right?”

****

Yunho almost choked. His cheeks were red before, but now they were flaming with the heat of what felt like a thousand suns. Guardian angel? Yeosang couldn’t possibly be further from the truth. “I, um, I mean, yeah, I called the hospital for you, Ed- um, I mean…” Yunho backtracked quickly, face burning with embarrassment.

****

Yunho could see the lightly bleeding scrape marks on Yeosang’s left elbow when he moved to push his hair out of his face. “Why didn’t you leave me your number?” Yeosang asked coolly.

****

“Wait, what-” Yunho practically wheezed the exclamation out, his voice going high-pitched.

****

“C’mon, man, you saved my life. I gotta thank you for something like that.” Yeosang was looking up at Yunho with a half smirk, the expression one would wear when talking about a subject much less serious than life and death.

****

“No,” Yunho almost tripped over his own feet as he slightly backed away. “Really, you don’t understand, I-”

****

“I would have died if not for you.” Yeosang repeated the sentiment.

****

“You don’t know the half of it…” Yunho mumbled. He intended for the statement to only be heard by himself, and was near tears when Yeosang’s brow furrowed and he let out a bewildered ‘Huh?’. “Uh-” Yunho’s shoulders held more than tension, kept up next to his ears and locked tight.

****

“Hey, man, relax,” Yeosang tried to make his voice sound calming and lifted his arm up to try and manually get Yunho’s shoulders back to where they were supposed to rest, but the taller of the two jerked violently away before Yeosang had the chance to lay a finger on him. Yunho’s eyes were wide and seemingly glassy with tears, and Yeosang was quick to realize it. The shorter boy tried again to reach out for Yunho, to calm him down, this time going to gently touch his cheek, give him that soft, warm, human to human contact. Yunho swatted Yeosang’s bare hand away with his gloved one before the touch could happen.

****

“You can’t touch me.” Yunho stammered out quickly, his voice and body trembling.

****

“Oh, uh… Are you some sort of germaphobe…?” Yeosang tried to reason. “Or…?”

****

“I’m a reaper.” Yunho blurted out, clamping his hand down over his mouth as soon as he relayed the information.

****

Yeosang’s eyes - along with the eyes of his four friends - went wide. “You-” Yeosang stepped a few inches away. Sure, reapers  _ did _ exist, and occasionally one living in the upper worlds would be interviewed - someone Yunho was somewhat familiar with, a man named Heechul, would often be the subject of these long winded talks - but Yeosang seemed to be in a state of disbelief. Did he not believe Yunho? Yunho couldn’t describe his emotions about that; if he blended in as a normal human, wasn’t that a good thing? “Dude, I get you’ve got your goth aesthetic going on, but just because you’re wearing all black doesn’t equate you to being a literal soul harvester-”

****

“But I am! I swear, I’m telling the truth.” Yunho’s voice had dropped to a raspy whisper; he was more afraid of causing a scene than he was of the general public finding out who he truly was.

****

Yeosang blinked once, and then another time, slower. “Prove it.”

****

“Yeosang-hyung, I really don’t think that’s the smartest idea. Provoking a reaper? What if he hurts you?”

****

“Don’t be a dumbass, Jongho.” The boy who had passed Yeosang the blunt scoffed. “You see how this guy’s acting? He couldn’t hurt anyone even if he tried. Plus, he called an ambulance for Sang. If not for him, Yeosang would be dead.”

****

Yeosang had pursed his lips, glancing down at his bare hands. Flicking his eyes up to Yunho’s face with a smirk, he lunged towards the taller boy with a hand outstretched, aiming for somewhere on his face. Yunho let out a tiny yelp before dodging Yeosang’s attack. His tone a bit more than scared, Yunho breathed out a small “Did you just try to slap me?”

****

“Okay, you’re right. That would have been a much too aggressive way to see if you were legit. But if you’re a reaper, contact with your bare skin’ll knock me out. So prove yourself.”

****

“There are other ways I can do that. Like…” Yunho twirled nervously to face the group of four, who were all watching with an intrigued sort of confusion. His gaze settled on the red-head. “You-” He said sharply. “Uh… Hongjoong-ssi, if I remember correctly…” Yunho stilled all his movements, and his eyes rolled back in his head just a bit. Visions of a younger Hongjoong flashed in his mind, medical records floating translucently inside his head. “The first time you were hospitalized, you were three years old, and it was because you had pneumonia.”

****

Hongjoong’s mouth dropped open in shock, visibly taken aback. A boy standing next to Hongjoong that appeared to be around Yunho’s height was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. “So you’re like a real life Baymax?” Yunho couldn’t help but giggle at the adorable comment. He even felt some of the tension in his shoulders decrease. Yunho was about to confirm the boy’s statement, but Yeosang had already started to ask Yunho another question.

****

“So the only reason you were with me after my accident at the hill was because I’m supposed to be dead?” Yeosang had asked a question, but his intonation made it sound much more like a statement. “You were there because you were supposed to collect my soul and all that. But you saved my life instead. Why?”

****

Yunho pulled at the neck of his sweater, trying to give himself some air. He could feel sweat beading near his hairline, and gulped quietly. Yeosang’s interrogation had made Yunho’s internal temperature rise about five degrees, and he was sure his face was flushed red from nervousness and embarrassment. “I, uh, um, I just-” He stammered. 

****

“Yeosang, stop it.” San scolded, stepping closer and making himself more present in the conversation. “You’re killing him, give the guy a moment to breathe.” San leaned in closer to Yunho, who inhaled sharply and froze up. “And as for you, you handsome little undertaker, you look like you’re dying in those clothes. It’s twenty-six degrees, and you’re wearing a sweater and jeans. That’s insane. What do you say you come home with me and the boys for a little while? I can get you out of those clothes, you know, and I’ll be more than happy to do so.”

****

“Uh-” Yunho’s face was bright red, he was sure of it. Yeah, he was  _ that _ deprived of any sort of intimacy. “I, um, I actually have to, uh… There’s something really important I need to talk to Yeosang about.”

****

“He’s coming back to my place! So it’s perfect! We’re all heading back there to cool down and spend some time, they’re most likely gonna spend the night. You’re welcome to as well, if you so choose.” With San’s bright smile shining across his face, Yunho found it increasingly more difficult to deny the boy’s request. At least… The secret was out, right? They all knew he was a reaper, so they all knew not to touch him. Except Yeosang, that was… But regardless of the boy’s death wish and lack of self-preservation, would this be an okay thing for him to do?

****

“I can’t stay the night. That can’t happen. I work most days, tomorrow is one of them. And I’m really on call whenever, y’know? Death doesn’t really happen on a scheduled basis, even if it feels like that… for us…” Yunho’s gloved hands were curling into fists, clenched awkwardly at his sides.

****

“What was the most gruesome death you ever had to steal a soul from?” The one who had made the Baymax comment was the same person who asked Yunho this, with the childlike wonderment that would be present in someone asking a firefighter the scariest place they’d had to rescue someone from. Yunho’s whole body twitched lightly; he was inundated with memories of car crashes, rape victims turned corpses with their clothes hanging on in tattered fragments, the distant wailing of parents who had just lost children from hospitals…

****

“I don’t like talking about my work.” Yunho’s throat was tight, and it took a few moments before he was able to center himself and pull himself out of memories. His foot started to tap nervously as he looked at the five boys around him. He needed to talk to Yeosang… But Eden would be proud of him if he took a big leap of courage like this and spent more than just minutes in the upper world. Eden was always advising him to learn about human culture, especially since his father had once been human, but Yunho never really had the desire to learn the ins and outs of the lifestyles of the people whose souls he harvested. He and his brother already had certain traits about them that made them more humanlike in personality than their counterparts with solely and wholly reaper ancestry. Knowing too much about a species whose death you facilitated wasn’t the best thing for the psyche, so Yunho had refused to become one of the reapers to live in upper world and understand the sister species he helped take lives of. But by choosing to save Yeosang, intertwining his fate with that of a human… Yunho’s master plan of staying aloof to mankind was screwed. He’d made one bad decision… So what difference would a few more make? “So let’s see where I’ll be ‘hanging out’ the next few hours.”

****

The entire walk was spent with them all introducing themselves to Yunho, and it was a bit much for the young reaper to take in all at once. All he’d really gotten to understand was that Hongjoong was a year older than everyone, San, Yeosang, and Mingi - who Yunho had been calling Baymax Boy until he’d said his name - were his age, and Jongho, the brawny looking one, was surprisingly a year younger than him. Another surprising thing, at least to Yunho, was their reactions towards him. They’d realized by now that Yunho was sweating and/or craving personal space, and had given him a decent stretch of space, all while keeping up an amicable conversation that didn’t mention Yunho’s line of work. Yunho hadn’t had much experience with alive humans before, and he had no idea how he’d be treated by any one of them. Thankfully, they seemed to be amicable at the very least, and outwardly friendly at best. Yunho still didn’t feel any less tension in his body, though. In fact, after making the decision to go back and integrate himself with the humans for a little, the danger sensors in his body were running wild. What was he thinking? Yunho knew he wasn’t built for interacting with living humans, and couldn’t shake off the residual anxiety. If anything, he could pretend to hear Eden’s voice in his head calling him back to the under worlds. Thinking about it, Yunho should just finally invest in one of those mortal cellphones. They’d provide such an easier excuse, much better than pretending to hear his boss magically speaking to him through his head. He kept himself sane by idly listening to the conversations around him, thanking his lucky stars that he wasn’t involved. They all seemed to stop centered near one apartment complex - that’s what they were called, right? - and Mingi giggled when Yunho almost walked straight past it. “Alright, cutie,” San grinned. “Before I can let you into my humble abode, at least let me -  _ us _ \- know your name?”

****

Yunho paled. Had he actually not given his name in the whole course of their walk here? Had he  _ actually _ been that socially inept? “I-” His words started to come out faster than he was able to process them, and he had to swallow down a whole string of sentence fragments as to not embarrass himself further. “My name’s Yunho.” He said nervously. “Sorry for not saying that earlier…”

****

“Pretty name for a pretty boy…” Yeosang mumbled under his breath. Yunho, however, heard the cliche sort of compliment, and flushed a bright pink.

****

“Well then, Yunho, welcome to the Choi household. I’m the only one out of these idiots that lives alone,” San began to explain as they all filed through the complex’s entrance. “Yeosang and Jongho live together, and so do Mingi and Hongjoong-hyung. When we hang out, we usually don’t go over to Mingi and hyung’s place, because, you know… They’ve been dating for a few years now, and I can’t count the number of times we’ve accidentally walked in on them in some very private times.”

****

“San!” Hongjoong shouted, the tips of his ears matching his hair in hue. “Shut up or so help me  _ God _ I will dropkick you.”

****

“Alright, alright, jeez…” San muttered. He switched onto another topic in an instant, though, baffling Yunho. “I live on the first floor, not too far from here, we’ve just got another hallway to get through. If you’re smell sensitive, I’d suggest taking some of the painkillers I have because my apartment always has some sort of thing going on. Scented candles, incense, air fresheners, I even diffuse those oils sometimes. Gets rid of the weed smell, you know?”

****

“I don’t know.”  Yunho said quite simply, hating how matter-of-fact his voice sounded. “I’ve never really been much exposed to drugs and all that. Especially the ones that require being smoked. Reapers, uh, we… Um, we don’t exactly-”

****

“-have to breathe?” Jongho chimed in, a hopeful glint in his eyes. “At least, I think I remembered that correctly… One of my favorite courses has been Reaper and Angel Studies. It’s actually called Studies of the Inhumane, but that just seems kinda mean, especially since it was the insensitive assholes who named the course decades and decades ago. So everyone from this generation just calls it Reaper and Angel Studies, RAS for short. I’m actually one of the leaders in a national petition to get the course not only officially renamed to RAS, but mandatory in all schools. You guys are really cool, we should be treating you normally, not like some sick freaks of nature…” Oh. Yunho couldn’t help but smile. Jongho was… adorable, to say the least. All activism and justice and cute smiles and sparkling eyes.

****

“You’re right, breathing isn’t necessary for us. And…” Yunho’s cheeks flamed red just a little, which he’d obviously blame on the heat in the complex. “That’s more than sweet what you’re trying to do for us. I hope it all works out.”

****

“Isn’t our Jonggie adorable?” San cooed, tossing his keys to Mingi so the taller could unlock the door to his apartment. Jongho looked like he was either about to blush or kick San in the shin. Yunho honestly couldn’t tell.

****

“San-hyung, you know I will have no issue with beating the living hell out of you if you call me adorable again.” Jongho huffed, lips forming a cute little pout.

****

“You know you’d never do that, Jongho-yah,” San countered with a smirk. “You love me too much.”

****

Jongho looked livid. Mingi, Yeosang, and Hongjoong all exchanged a knowing glance, and something deep down in Yunho possessed him to break the situation’s increasing tension. “You said you had other clothes for me?” Yunho managed to ask the question without his voice devolving into an anxious squeak, which surprised even himself. “It’s really hot right now, and I, uh…”

****

“Aw, Yunho, of course. Come on inside, I’ll show you to my room. I’ll give you my biggest sized stuff, but it might still be a little tiny on you.” That evil grin that showed on San’s face was the one Yunho suspected to be the boy’s signature after viewing its many appearances. “I won’t touch you or anything, don’t worry. Just a bit excited to see what you look like without layers of boxy clothing weighing you down. Besides, it’s usually hot in here, so changing really is recommended.”

****

Yeosang rolled his eyes. “San, now  _ you’re _ the one killing him. Just act like a normal person, stop letting your dick talk. Also- he’s a reaper, so give it a rest. You can’t even touch him, so stop trying to hook up with him.” 

****

San didn’t look put off in the slightest, which pissed Yeosang off to no extent.

****

“Anyway, Yunho dear,” San smiled. “Please, like actually, I’m being serious, don’t answer if you don’t feel comfortable… Are you straight?”

****

“Nope.” Yunho answered the question easily. “Reapers don’t really have a need for labelling ourselves. We’re a lot less stigmatized about all this, and a lot more accepting of a person’s choices. I admittedly don’t know much about human culture, but I do know that for reapers, things like figuring out who you love is accepted regardless of the outcome. So I guess I’m lucky to be a reaper; we don’t care about sexuality and gender and all that trivial stuff. Neither do angels. But, uh… Back to me, I guess… I’ve never really felt anything towards a girl before? So I think I’m gay? But I don’t know, I’ve never thought about myself in terms of labels like that.”

****

“That’s actually amazing.” San was quick to grin and offer his hand to Yunho’s, bracing the gesture with a “This won’t hurt me, okay? You’ve got gloves on, so if you’re comfortable, let’s go?” Yunho closed his eyes for a moment, convinced himself that this is all fine. He knew he could just interworld travel if it came to that, and exhales a shaky breath as he places his hand in San’s, and lets himself be whisked into the apartment. 

****

They were the second pair inside, only Jongho and Yeosang left, and the former was about to go inside with a huff when Yeosang stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Jongho,” Yeosang can practically feel Jongho’s heart drop along with his shoulder as he dropped his voice to a whisper. “Are you ever going to tell Sannie how you feel about him?”

****

Jongho scoffed at him, eyes rolling in tandem. “Like I’d ever be stupid enough to ruin things like that, hyung.” Yeosang could tell how choked up Jongho sounded, and it broke him. “It’s more than obvious he doesn’t like me. Especially not after Yunho-ssi showed up. San’s practically in love already. And I can’t even get mad at Yunho! He’s such a sweet guy! And it’s obvious why San is so head over heels for him, he’s practically perfect. And he’s supernatural. I can’t compete with that.”

****

“Jongho, people could say the exact same thing about you.” Yeosang was hurt to know his best friend actually thought like this about himself.

****

“Well San can’t! And he’s the only one that matters to me when it comes to shit like this.” Jongho’s muscles were twitching, something that only happened when he got angry.

****

“Do you want me to talk to San?” Yeosang’s voice was soft, his tone intentional to try and coax assent out of Jongho. “If you meddle, I evict you. Understand, hyung?” Jongho spat, shaking Yeosang’s grip from off his shoulders. As soon as Jongho stepped foot through the doorway, however, he heard a pained shout and it startled him almost enough to have him spinning around and walking right back out. “What just happened? Is everyone alright?” Jongho couldn’t place who the noise came from. It didn’t sound familiar to him, so it must have been…

****

“Why in all levels of hell do you have holy water lying around here like it’s nothing?!” Yunho.

****

Jongho really wished he could be angry with Yunho for the situation at hand with San. But it was impossible, especially when Yunho was just a tall, awkward, alien sort of puppy that didn’t fully understand human culture - and especially not stoner culture. He jogged towards the direction of San’s bedroom until he found Yunho standing a meter or two away from the months old water bottle with the scrappy duct tape label with a drunkenly scrawled ‘holy water’ written on it. Jongho supposed he couldn’t fault Yunho for being this gullible, he himself admitted he knew next to nothing about humans. “Yunho, that’s not real. I promise you, that’s just regular water. It can’t hurt you.”

****

“Wait, doesn’t actual holy water only hurt demons?” Yeosang questioned, entering the premises and making it filled to capacity with its maximum of six people.

****

Jongho huffed, almost annoyed. “You’d think with me as a friend, you’d know more about reapers’ physiology. Basically, whereas a demon can be killed using holy water, it only affects a reaper with less harsh injuries, anywhere from hives to a first degree burn. It all depends on how much holy water you’ve got and the potency of it.”

****

“You really do know a lot about my kind…” Yunho sounded not only impressed, but thankful, and Jongho couldn’t help but smile at the taller boy. “But I still don’t believe that’s fake. If Yeosang is the type of person to skate down Rose Hill, you can own legitimate holy water.”

****

“Come on,” Hongjoong piped up, the first time he had done so in a while. “Do you trust us?”

****

Yunho blinked once. Then twice. And another time just for good measure. “No.”

****

“See! So then-” Hongjoong paused. “I was expecting you to say yes.” 

****

Yunho let a weak laugh go. That was appropriate for the situation, right? “You and Yeosang said I look like a drug dealer. San’s been not so subtly hitting on me. Mingi still probably thinks I’m like a harmless unassuming robot. And you’re all strangers. If there’s anyone I remotely trust, it’s probably Jongho.”

****

Jongho’s ears went red at that, something hot curling in the base of his stomach. It was goddamn impossible to hate Yunho. Hongjoong cleared his throat. “So… Jongho-yah, come here. Pour some of the water on Yunho’s hand. Prove to him it’s harmless.”

****

“What?!” Yunho exclaimed. Jongho could sense the reaper’s escalating anxiety. He glanced down to Yunho’s gloved hands and saw that his fingers were starting to phase in and out of sight. He was considering interworld travel. Jongho thanked his knowledge of the sister species, and stepped closer to Yunho.

****

“I promise, Yunho-ssi, this isn’t holy water. This can’t hurt you. I won’t hurt you. Please, let me show you that nothing in this home is out to get you. You’re safe.” Jongho’s eyes were wide with sincerity.

****

“O-Okay. Uh… Um, it’ll be easier to do it on my arm, the gloves go up a little. For safety.” Yunho’s voice was shaking. It hurt Jongho to hear him sound so scared. He watched as the taller boy pulled up the sleeve of his sweater until it reached his elbow. The tight leather glove wrapped up half his forearm, so only a small strip of skin was exposed. Jongho glanced around to see the others’ reactions. Hongjoong and Mingi were interested, San too, but it paled in comparison to how Yeosang seemed to hunger for Yunho. He was staring at Yunho as if he were Eve and that strip of skin was the forbidden fruit from the garden of Eden. Jongho grabbed the bottle from out of Hongjoong’s hand, and unscrewed the cap, all while Yunho had started to all but tremble. Jongho tilted the bottle just slightly, enough so that a few drops were on the verge of pouring out.

****

“I promise you, you’re fine.” Jongho mumbled, letting the few drops splash against Yunho’s exposed skin. Yunho had made a small noise on impact, all from fear, and Jongho felt his arm grow tired, as if Yunho was leaching life from the room itself. The reaper exhaled shakily when he realized that he was fine, and yanked down his sleeve as soon as possible.

****

“Thank you for not lying to me. I’ve been told humans lie a lot.”’ Yunho said in a tight voice.

****

“We’re not those type of humans,” San pressed. “Now come on, I don’t want you catching a fever from these clothes. My room’s right this way.” Yunho nodded, hands still slightly shaking as he followed San inside. When the door closed, Mingi instantly whipped his head around to face Yeosang.

****

“You never said your ‘guardian angel’ was a grim fucking reaper! And you certainly didn’t say he had a smile that could light up the whole room! Yeo, you gotta ask him out. Like… Now, before someone else does, because a guy like that definitely can’t be single for long.” Hongjoong and Jongho held back their snickers as Yeosang’s eyes widened.

****

“Listen,” Came Yeosang’s retaliation. “I was on the verge of death, so forgive me if I didn’t realize that I was supposed to die and it was a  _ reaper  _ who  _ saved  _ my life. Also! I was, in fact, nearly dead, so I thought him being undeniably attractive was just my mind in its delirium. And lastly - dating for me involves touching. Physical contact. And I can’t get that with Yunho without going comatose.”

****

Mingi sighed, dejected and defeated. “Right… But there’s got to be some sort of way to work around it, isn’t there? Like… Hasn’t Bora from your art class tried to look into that stuff? If you ask her, maybe she can hook you up with some info…?”

****

“Is everything okay?” Yunho poked his head out from behind the doorway. “You guys don’t look so happy… And Mingi, did you say Yeosang was hooking up with someone?” Admittedly, Yunho had only heard a few muffled words as he opened the door, so he might have not gotten the complete version of Mingi’s sentence, and well, he really hoped he didn’t. If Yeosang was planning on getting with someone… that would just be embarrassing for Yunho.

****

“No! Uh… Mingi asked me if I’d hook up with this girl in my art class.” Yeosang lied through his teeth quickly. “He just told me she liked me but, uh, that’ll never happen ‘cause you know, me, I’m-” Yeosang took a moment to actually  _ look _ at Yunho, and almost collapsed on the spot. San had given him probably the biggest clothes he owned, yet it really wasn’t enough. The t-shirt San had given Yunho was simple, plain white, and… tight on him, constricting  _ perfectly _ on his pecs and riding up just a bit on his stomach. Yeosang could see that San had also given Yunho sweatpants, dark grey ones that rested low on his hips, were tight on his thighs, and stopped a few inches above his ankles. Yeosang forced himself not to search for the barely-there outline of a bulge in the sweatpants or the faintest traces of dark hair leading down past the sweatpants’ waistband. “-really fucking gay.”

****

“O-Oh. Well. Alright then.” Yunho sheepishly ran a - still gloved - hand down his neck. His  _ exposed _ neck. His exposed neck that Yeosang hungered to kiss, maybe even mark up if push came to shove. Yeosang ran his tongue over his dry lips, closing his eyes to internally yell at his hormones. No way was he going to get hot and bothered over the gorgeous man that was supposed to take his soul.

****

San sauntered out from the room, then, giving a devilish smirk to Yeosang. “Yunnie-yah and I were talking in there… He’s gonna let me teach him how to smoke. C’mon, losers, get in the living room, we’re blazing the fuck up.” Yeosang wanted to scream. The image of Yunho smoking was hotter than it had the right to be. Yunho with a glassy look in his eyes, blowing clouds of smoke in Yeosang’s waiting face. And then through the haze, Yeosang would lean forward until his lips met Y- No. Nope. No way. It was impossible. Yeosang sighed, frustrated. At least the thought of knowing he’d literally die if he kissed Yunho was a good boner killer.

****

“Yunnie-yah, that’s such a cute nickname.” Hongjoong giggled. “I hope there’ll be more trust between us after your first smoke. It’s kind of an intimate thing, especially when it’s with San. But seriously, on the days you’re not… working, I’d love to hang with you again.”

****

Yunho smiled, and it was close to genuine. “If things keep going smoothly, maybe I will.”

****

San’s tongue poked through his teeth in a mischievous grin, as he grabbed Yunho - gently - by the hand to drag him over to the couch. He motioned to Jongho, who matched him in a wicked grin. The younger boy tossed something long, skinny, and golden to San who caught it with expertise. “Weed pen.” He told Yunho, who nodded like I child would during a lecture. “We really only play around with weed, other stuff like vaping is  _ not _ our thing. None of us are in the mood to get hooked on nicotine, you know?” Yunho nodded again, trying to keep up with San’s fast pace as he sat down, San sitting next to him. “Okay, so what you gotta do is simple. Just breathe in, like suck in from this end,” San instructs, pointing to what must have been the… mouthpiece - was that the right word? - of the pen. God, Yunho really needed to start understanding human culture better than he has so far. “And don’t exactly  _ swallow _ it, like, hold it in your lungs for a bit. And when you let it out…” San paused for dramatic effect. “Expect smoke. And expect to feel really good after a few hits.”

****

“San, everyone has different reactions to getting high, especially when it’s their first time,” Hongjoong countered, taking a seat on Mingi’s lap, the latter having just sat down next to San near the arm of the couch. “You of all people should know that.”

****

Mingi agreed with his boyfriend, chiming in with a “San actually bordered on the edge of a panic attack the first time he smoked, but you’d never know it from the way he is now.”

****

“Aside from that,” San coughed with a pointed glare directed at the lovers beside him. “Yunho, you ready?” San’s eyebrow quirked upwards, a glint of deviance in his gaze. “I promise, it’ll feel so good.”

****

“Yeah. I’m ready. It’s nothing, right?” Yunho glanced around, a little nervous. “And it can’t kill me, which is pretty good. Nothing can, really…” Yunho noticed how the others - well, all except Jongho - had started to stare at him with a bewildered expression. “Did you not know about reaper immortality…?”

****

“You just keep getting cooler by the minute.” San grinned at him.

****

Cool? Did San actually just say Yunho was  _ cool? _ Yunho felt his cheeks flare up pink, and he shifted nervously on the couch. “Thanks…?” Wow. Social skills 101. Yunho’s blush darkened, this time from embarrassment. “Alright. I’m gonna do it now.” Yunho’s gloved hand was shaking as San passed him the pen. “So I just breathe it in and then out? It’s that simple?”

****

“Precisely.”

****

Yunho nodded upon hearing the confirmation, and raised the pen to his mouth. The four boys were watching him like they were hawks, eyes wide and trained on him. Letting part of the device slip between his lips, he inhaled deeply through his mouth, letting his eyes fall shut. Not having to look gave him more confidence than he could have expected. Keeping in mind San’s advice, he deepened his breath even more, trying to imagine the drug going into his lungs. Yunho opened his eyes on his exhale, and admittedly was shocked to see smoke escaping from his mouth. It caused a nervous giggle to spill out of him, which made the opaque smoke dissipate quite quickly. “Was-” Yunho paused, recoiled slightly at an unfamiliar taste in his mouth. “Was that it? Did I do it right?”

****

Yeosang’s stomach had tightened watching Yunho smoke for the first time. But it was impossible to blame him - anyone watching Yunho smoke was bound to fall in love… Right? “That was hot.” Yeosang’s voice betrayed him and came out despite him wanting to keep that comment to himself. Hongjoong snickered at him, prompting the younger to flip him off with a scowl.

****

“Did you like it?” San asked, completely ignoring Yeosang. The blonde couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with San for drawing Yunho’s attention away from him so he couldn’t hear Yeosang’s comment, or grateful for the same reason.

****

“It was… Fun, I guess? I don’t feel any different, though…” Yunho shyly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He realized in that moment that the action seemed to be such a nervous habit for him. Was it weird? Did the boys even pay any mind to it?

****

“Well of course not, silly,” Mingi commented offhand. “You took one hit, nothing really happens from just one small hit. If you wanna get high, you need to take more than just one drag.”

****

“High…?” Yunho absolutely despised how unaware he sounded. He knew what getting high was, he wasn’t  _ that _ removed from human culture. Besides, Wooyoung had once experimented with weed a few months ago. So Yunho most definitely was exposed to it, just never firsthand. “Should I… Should I try it?”

****

“Only if you want!” Jongho sounded concerned, which warmed Yunho’s heart in a strange way. “Please don’t feel like we’re pressuring you or anything.” Yunho sighed. In his twenty-one years of life, had he really ever done anything fun? Or risky? The baddest thing he’d ever done was think this one young man was cute in the last moments of his life before Yunho stole his soul with a kiss. 

****

“I wanna do it. I’ve never done anything like this before, and just…” He looked out at the four of them with a hesitant smile. “Like I said before, this won’t hurt me at all. So what’s the harm?” Yunho leaned back against the couch, and brought the pen to his lips once again. This time, his drag was longer, and when he let the smoke pass through his lips yet again, he felt almost at ease. And there was something in him that wanted to keep going. These boys were nice, and the addition of the weed had made him feel so much more calm than he had upon first meeting them. “I… I think I really like this…” Yunho mumbled after a few more hits of the pen. HIs mind already felt as if it were a mix between clear and hazy. Was this normal for so early on? “Are you guys gonna have some too? Or is this just some ploy to get me intoxicated so you can perform weird reaper experiments on me? Have people done that before?”

****

“God, you’re absolutely adorable,” San grinned at him. “Hey, uh, Yeosang, can you get me one of the gardening gloves I have in my kitchen? Right next to the sink?” Before even waiting for the other boy to respond, San flashed him a huge smile. “Thank you, love!” Jongho instantly noted how Yeosang’s jaw and fists clenched, a sort of possessive jealousy washing over him.

****

“I’ll get it, hyung.” Jongho announced before Yeosang could throw some jealous rage hissy fit. “Yeosangie-hyung, you just stay here. Make sure San doesn’t do anything idiotic.” Alright, so maybe Jongho was a little jealous too, but Jongho knew how to control himself. Especially since he’d been pining over San for years now. Trying to stay light on his feet, Jongho walked gingerly to the kitchen and grabbed one of the gloves. He tried to push back the jealousy threatening to slip out between the cracks in the masking of his crush as he walked back. San didn’t like Yunho, at least Jongho didn’t think so. San never really seemed romantically interested with anyone before, he was just naturally physically affectionate with people. Stepping back into the living room, Jongho tossed San the glove. He caught it with grace and a blinding smile. Damn him, Jongho thought, damn Choi San and his gorgeous smiles.

****

“Thanks, Jonggie!” San exclaimed, shoving his hand into the glove at a rapid pace. When Jongho turned to glance at Yunho, he couldn’t help but grin at the reaper. Damn San for his smiles, and damn Yunho for being so likeable. The reaper’s ears and cheeks were flushed rosy pink, and the pen was dangling from between his bubblegum pink lips almost delicately. San, now with the glove on his hand, reached out for Yunho and threaded his covered fingers through Yunho’s hair, making the reaper hum out a quiet noise of contentment. He leaned into the touch, settling back against the couch even more. “Alright, Yunho, so… Can we find out more about you? Like… I don’t know, what’s your full name? Do you have one?”

****

Yunho giggled, and Yeosang swore it sounded like the gentle sound of wedding bells. “Of  _ course _ I have a full name. I’m an otherworldly creature, not Shakira. Although, I’ve gotta say that Shakira is pretty otherworldly, and my hips certainly do not lie.” Yeosang could feel his heart literally constricting inside his chest. Nobody had the right to be this adorable, especially not when they were high. “It’s Jeong, by the way. I’m Jeong Yunho, grim reaper. I’d say ‘at your service’, but that would kinda make it sound like you’re all murderers and I really doubt that that’s true.” Yunho explained, turning his head even more to nuzzle into San’s touch, almost puppy-like in his actions. “San, be careful, please… Don’t want you passing out from my inhibitions being lowered…” 

****

“Of course not, cutie, I know how to be safe around danger.” San assured him. Yunho grinned at that, so he let his eyes fall shut after taking one last drag from the pen and handing it back to San. His eyelids didn’t necessarily feel heavy as much as they did relaxed, and now that he wasn’t responsible for holding the pen, he could let all his limbs go lax and just rest. The other boys were talking, Yunho could hear them clearly, almost imagine what they looked like as they passed the pen between themselves. But internally, everything felt silent and peaceful.

****

“Wait, shit, what’s he doing?” Hongjoong’s voice broke the calm atmosphere as his eyes widened after glancing at Yunho. “Why isn’t he fully here? Jongho, you know this, right?”

****

“Hm? Wha-” Yunho blinked his eyes open rapidly, recoiling at the sight of the bright light in the room. Wait… Since when had they all started looking at him like he had six heads? And why did San stop running his fingers through his hair, especially when that had felt so good? He looked down, blurry eyes focusing in on his fingers and feet - well, the  _ lack _ of them, really. Of course. Yunho opened his mouth again, trying to explain how interworld travel worked, but nothing was working.

****

Thank the heavens and all the circles of hell for Choi Jongho. “Interworld travel. It’s a property in a reaper’s DNA - that’s also shared with angels - that allows them to transport themselves between their homes in the under worlds to up here in what they call the upperworld. Almost like teleportation, if you will. I just… Have no idea why it’s happening this erratically right now. Maybe it’s the weed? Drugs and things of that nature mess with humans, it could very well mess with otherworldly beings. But… the textbooks never talked about this.”

****

Yunho felt beyond embarrassed. Beyond uneasy, beyond shameful. Although interworld traveling had a penchant for making Yunho nauseous, he’d always been one of the best in his relative age group at keeping any sort of ability under control. But now? Hell, he could only imagine how much of an embarrassment he was being. Yunho felt dizzy, his stomach lurching inside of him uncomfortably. The embarrassment only made way for two things, neither of which Yunho was happy about. His face was almost bloodred, flushed and hot. And more of his body had started to phase out of the current plane of existence; his forearms and parts of his thighs were turning transparent quickly. He needed to make up some sort of lie, try and fabricate what would seem like a believable story, if only he could get his mouth to start working. “I’m-” He stammered nervously. “S’normal!” Yunho wouldn’t even believe himself. “Boss is calling me, someone just died and I’ve gotta take care of it! That’s my job, I’m basically a garbageman for corpses…” Yunho laughed weakly. “Thanks for the bit of company, but I, uh, I’d best be going!” And with that, he squeezed his eyes shut, focused as best he could through his drug-addled mind on a place in the under worlds he felt at home in, and escaped from the upper world in near tears.

****

“Seonghwa-hyung, fuck- c’mon, gimme more-” Yunho could barely register the sound of his younger brother’s voice high and breathy, nearly… fucked out. Fuck. Again? Yunho felt like he was going to die, if that was possible. He was about to stumble over some apology that would sound half-assed at best, but Seonghwa beat him to speaking.

****

“Wooyoung-ah, my lovely flower, I think we need to put our physicality on hold for a moment. Your brother has seemed to make a guest appearance, and judging by the smell wafting off the clothing that… doesn’t belong in his possession, he’s… damn, what’s the modern expression… high? Yes, your brother is, ah, high off of his ass, as the humans his age would say.”

****

“Jeong Yunho!” Wooyoung’s voice was a loud shriek, demanding of attention. But Yunho couldn’t look. The image of his brother getting railed by his fallen angel boyfriend was an image that had been burned into his retinas one too many times. “I’d really prefer some privacy, just go to your room and wait out your high. We’ll see you in-” Wooyoung paused to glance at Seonghwa, reading his lips. “Hours? Fine, whatever, we’ll be with you in a few hours. Just go back to your room right now and sleep or something. And please, change clothes.”

 

Yunho didn’t believe he could ever be more mortified than he was at the present moment. “Y-Yeah. Sorry, Woo. Sorry, Hwa-hyung. I’ll just… leave, yeah, I’ll just go now.” After his pitiful clipped sentences, Yunho focused his interworld travelling ability and honed it in, making it less intense, only enough to get him transported to his room. His mind still cloudy and hazy, Yunho slowly pulled off the clothes, let them drop to the floor - which Seonghwa would undoubtedly reprimand him for later - and pulled on one of his oversized comfort sweaters. He flopped down onto his bed, defeated, and slunk under his covers, trying not to let his hot tears of embarrassment spill from behind his eyes. Yunho tried to think back on the good parts of the day, before he’d lost control of his abilities, and realized with a sinking feeling that, although he’d started to make friends with the five boys, he’d completely forgotten about his purpose for going up there in the first place: explaining to Yeosang the soul connection, or whatever Eden and Seonghwa had started calling it, they now shared. With a frustrated cry, Yunho turned over in his bed, pressing his face down against his pillow. He was a reaper, so the action wouldn’t give him any lasting consequences, but still. Yunho wanted nothing more than to smother himself. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiii loves <33 i've noticed that i've started getting less and less feedback on my work, which kinda has me :/, so if you find the time to spare a comment, i'd love to read it. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!! and i'd like to give a shoutout to my big sister and the yunsan cult gc for inspiring the dynamic between yunho and san here. yes, yunsang and 2choi are the main relationships,,,, don't be pressed,,,,,,,,,,,
> 
> Have a wonderful day/night, ATINY!! Smile and stay healthy!  
> xoxo, Lyss <3

**Author's Note:**

> am i luvs this dynamic??? Yes. Yes I am. and I hope you all are too!! I also hope to get some feedback because uwu i love hearing what my lovies think :(((( <3\. I also also hope you all decide to keep reading!! This is definitely gonna get r e a l interesting soon hehehe~~~
> 
> Have a splendid day/night, ATINY!! Make sure to sleep well <3  
> xoxo, Lyss


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